A 22-year-old downtown resident was so ticked off at the loud bar crowd next door he grabbed a bow and arrow and went out to confront the most boorish of the brood, Madison police reported.

Unfortunately for the modern day Robin Hood, the bow and arrow was disturbing to others, with police being called and an officer eventually drawing his gun at the archer before citing him for disorderly conduct.

The incident happened early Saturday morning about bar closing time in the 400 block of North Frances Street, police said.

The archer, Matthew Becker, was watching TV with some friends, on a warm night with the windows open on his apartment, which is next door to the Red Shed and close to Wando's.

"At that time of the night, patrons were spilling out onto the sidewalk, and it can be rather noisy," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "Not the type of atmosphere which makes for good TV watching."

Becker yelled outside for people to quiet down.

"One of the guys outside didn't take kindly to the request, and yelled back that he was going to grab a rock and throw it through the window," DeSpain said.

The argument escalated.

"It got to the point where Becker grabbed his bow and arrow and headed out to the street to confront the other man," DeSpain said.

Not a good move on Becker's part.

"Two people contacted a nearby officer, voicing their concerns over the situation," DeSpain said.

The officer drew his weapon and ordered Becker to put his bow and arrow on the ground. He did so.

"He said he was just protecting his property," DeSpain said. "He also said the other man made some anti-Semitic remarks, which offended him because he's Jewish."

The officer asked him how he'd feel if he saw someone armed with a bow and arrow confronting another person on a crowded downtown street.

"Becker said 'I would think it was a dangerous person,'" DeSpain said.

No one was injured, police said.

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It sounded to me like this man was defending his home. Somebody came to my house and started yelling anti-Catholic remarks and throwing stones at my house, I would come out with my .45 and tell the person to leave.

I guess in Wisconsin, some drunken bar hopper has the right to throw stones and yell anti-Semitic remarks at people, but law abiding people don't have a right to defend themselves.

If I was there, I'd be standing with the guy with the bow and arrow. Sure I'd think he was dangerous, but he'd be within his rights to be dangerous.

The rowdy drunks were not in his yard, did not throw rocks through his window (just threatened to), and, like they say about "sticks and stones", names won't hurt you.

When he got a deadly weapon and left his yard and went looking for the loudmouth drunk, he wasn't defending his home. He was attacking. He'll be lucky if he does not get jail time.

If he had just called the law, he'd have been better. If he had waited until the drunk came into his yard and threw a rock through the window, and then shot the drunk, he might have a "self-defense" plea. But what he did was not only illegal, it was stupid.